Man Accused Of Leaving Girls, 3 And 5, In Car While Shopping In Long Beach, L.I.

LONG BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A Long Island father stood accused Thursday of leaving his two young children inside a vehicle alone while he went shopping.

As WCBS 880’s Sophia Hall reported, the two little girls, ages 3 and 5, were in the car with the windows down. The vehicle was not running.

Long Beach police Commissioner Michael Tangney said their father went into Stop and Shop and was there for about 20 minutes getting groceries – while his daughters were alone outside.

“Anything could have happened,” Tangney said. “I mean, these children were completely out of his sight; out of his hearing range. Even if they screamed, you know, he wouldn’t have heard them. We had to alert him through public address system. It just was, like I said, terrible judgment.”

The children were not injured. A passerby called police around 4 p.m. when they saw the sister alone in the car. Tangney said the father was arrested.

“He was not at all remorseful or even understanding of the danger he put his children in,” Tangney said.